


Devotion

by sp00kworm



Series: Cowbell The Nameless Ghoul [2]
Category: GHOST - Fandom, Ghost (Sweden Band), Ghost (Swedish Band), Ghost BC
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demon AU, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Ghoul, Ghouls, Ghouls are not human, Gore, Mild Gore, Mild Horror, Murder, Murder of the Papas, musings, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-01 11:50:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14519904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp00kworm/pseuds/sp00kworm
Summary: Cowbell Ghoul was found as a small spawn, abandoned on the surface of the Earth's crust to be murdered by the draining sunlight and spirits, and was raised by Papa Nil, who found him early in his own life. When the Grand Papa's life is threatened by the Clergy, Cowbell does all he can to protect his carer in the way of dealing with the Clergy's number one threat during the transition of power to the Cardinal - his sons. During this event, he discovers that he wasn't as powerless a creature as he always assumed.





	1. Rite

Flicking the switch knife back and forth, Cowbell lazily flicked his tail as he leaned against the wall of the Chapel. The dark fur on the end was knotted and needed a brush, but it could wait, he had more pressing matters, a meeting with Sister Imperator. She had summoned a few people into her large suite like office throughout the day, and a couple of the other Ghouls had spoken to him briefly about it, their words clipped as they avoided the subject. Cowbell frowned beneath his mask, licking his teeth as he flicked the blade open again and passed it between his fingers. It had been a gift from Papa Nil on his turning of a century. The Ghoul was fascinated by knives and having a secret one given to him by his carer when he was finally deemed a ‘mature’ Ghoul was sweet. 

The heavy doors to the Sister’s office opening startled him and caused him to hastily stash the blade in the pocket of his regulation Ghoul suit. The Sister shooed away another official looking Clergy member with an icy smile before turning her gaze on the Lesser Ghoul. Bright intense eyes appeared to look through the Ghoul as it shifted before her, waving a gloved hand timidly at the brains of the operation. Sister sighed and waved him in, rubbing her temples softly as her head wracked with another headache. Cowbell followed her in, tucking his tail down his trouser leg as he took in the size of the room. Huge red curtains partially blocked the light from the large, intricate stained glass window. A God was bleeding onto his subjects in the glass and Cowbell waited for permission to sit as the Sister seated herself at a large mahogany desk and poured herself a glass of lemon water. Once she had swallowed some pain killers for her headache, she signalled to chair across from her, and Cowbell gingerly took a seat. 

Sister Imperator looked straight into his eyes after taking a deep breath. Cowbell looked at her with large black eyes through the metal mask that Ghoul’s were required to wear.  
“The Clergy has made a decision, one that could potentially change this congregation forever.” She steepled her fingers over her neatly piled documents and Cowbell watched her brow furrow, “They…They wish for the linage of the Papa’s to end.” Cowbell tilted his head as she continued, “The line of Papa’s is stale, and the protégées have been used to their maximum potential. There are none left, the band has cycled through all the available protégées the Grand Papa has. Therefore, they have chosen to instate a younger member of the Clergy, Cardinal Copia. However, the problem of Papa Nihil’s protégées still stands. They must be…dealt with.” The Sister leaned back in her chair, her face clouded with emotion.

The Ghoul across from her messed with the bottom of his mask in a state of anxiety and looked away from the intense gaze of the Sister before speaking, “So you have called me here to have me…do what exactly, Sister?” Cowbell’s voice was soft and heavily accented. He hadn’t left the compound much which meant the heavy local accent coated his words thickly.  
Sister Imperator leaned forwards in her chair, her face still troubled, “You, and a few select others, have been chosen to immortalise them. First however, they must be, silenced in a way, so they can feel no pain during the embalmment.” She reached into the drawer next to her and pulled out two long black velvet boxes, about big enough to fit a fancy necklace in. She opened the one on her right to reveal a syringe, needle and a vial of heavy tranquilisers. “Inject Emeritus the Third with this and he will feel nothing. Know that if you do not do this, the Clergy have a more drastic measure to fall back on."

With slightly trembling fingers, Sister opened the box on the left to reveal a sparkling dagger. The hilt was inconspicuous, wrapped with soft black moulded leather and the end stamped with ivy. The blade was dangerous. Cowbell Ghoul eyed the knife before hissing.  
“A silver dagger? That does not kill Ghouls, Sister.” Cowbell gripped the chair beneath him as his tail sprung free. He felt his face blurring and swirling into a miasma as the Sister tutted.  
“No, it does not. But it does kill demons, or at least part demons. Papa Emeritus Nihil will also be eradicated should his sons not be controlled. They see his leadership as old fashioned and they wish to truly begin anew in order to bring more into the fold.” Cowbell felt his viscous black blood run cold. They were going to eradicate the bloodline. The control over the Ghoul’s would be lost, the ties with Satan, everything. He glanced back at the Sister and blinked before pulling the syringe towards himself.

The Sister’s face softened as he pulled the needle free and held the vial of brown coloured tranquilisers up to the light.  
“I will not allow for the Clergy to eradicate the bloodline, Sister. Papa Nil is the only barrier between the Clergy and the Ghouls. Without him the self-awareness of the Ghoul perishes. It would be a massacre…and... I can not let him die. He raised me like one of his own, like a real ghoul.” Sadly, the Ghoul peered down at the tranquilizer in his hands and gripped it tight to stop his hands from shaking. He felt the soft hands of the Sister cover his through the gloves and looked up at her with ink coloured eyes. She patted his hands softly, a sad smile covering her face as she placed the dagger away.  
“I am glad you feel that way, Ghoul. It…It would be terrible to see Papa go in such a cruel manner. He has been here for longer than many know.” A wistful smile grew on her lips, but soon disappeared as she pointed to the syringe.  
“They will be in the game’s room in exactly two hours from now, I will signal when they are to be put down.” Cowbell nodded and dismissed himself, his void of a heart heavy.

Cowbell was hidden in the shadows of the room with two other unnamed Ghouls as the son’s played Uno and gambled, taking shots of whiskey and smoking fat Cuban cigars as they cursed one another and the Clergy. Emeritus the Second had evidently swallowed a pill with one of his shots as he unknowingly presented his cards to his brothers at the table, having them the wrong way around in his hand. They grumbled together as Emeritus the First slapped a ‘pick up four’ card down on top of the pile. It was then that Sister Imperator burst into the room with her speech of them being reinstated. They hurriedly hid the ash tray and whiskey as she entered and relaxed with confused faces as the Sister and their father left. Cowbell felt the faint hum of an unspoken word run through him as Emeritus the Third shrugged at the table, his face a picture of exasperation.

The shadows hissed at the Ghouls materialised behind the three former Papas, their syringes primed. Cowbell crept towards the Third, his tail poking out of the waist band of his trousers as he kept low. The other two Ghouls moved into position behind the other Papa’s and Cowbell waited one beat, then another. The Second’s eyes widened in shock and he moved to stand and warn his brothers, but it was already too late. The Ghouls struck like vipers, the needles sticking deep into the arteries of the necks of the leaders. The Papa beneath Cowbell went stiff for a moment before trying to jolt away, the pain of the needle finally burning through his nerves. The Ghoul struggled to keep the needle in place as the man struggled for a millisecond. 

Cowbell grumbled as he felt something surge through him. It started in his finger tips and the tips of his toes before surging upwards in a wave. He felt the backs of his hands burn beneath the gloves as red and black energy trickled into the wound where the needle was impaled in the Papa’s neck. A hum ran through Cowbell and he snapped his teeth as his vision turned red, he felt the blood rush through the men in the room and clenched his fingers into the side of the Third’s neck. Blood rushed underneath his fingertips and slowly drained as the Papa flopped down onto the table, his head falling into his own hand of cards. 

Cowbell wheezed out the breath he had been holding and the other Papa’s fell unconscious. He shook, his vision swirling red and black. The two other Ghouls eyed him warily, already fading back into the shadows as the room pulsed with something far sinister than either wished to face. Cowbell howled at the ceiling as the removal team moved in, ripping his mask off over his head.The metal collided with the wall with a clang and landed beneath the table, strange symbols glowing on it made from molten metal. A maw full of jagged teeth glittered with saliva and a black slick tongue rolled out between them as claws ripped through the gloves covering the Ghoul’s hands. Black eyes were voids of nothing, black and red veins speckled around the sides as dark energy swirled through the room. A member of the team screamed as the Ghoul picked him up by the neck before latching its mouth into his neck. One foolish man clutched his rosary cross and smashed a chair over the creature's back muttering demonic curses. Roaring the rabid creature dropped the corpse in its grip, before spinning on it's heels, ramming the curved point of his horn into the attacker's stomach. The creature's claws lengthened with black, void coloured hands, the fingers long and claws great sharp points, and it gave another howl as the humming in it's head grew louder with the rushing of the blood of the humans in the room. Blood flew up the wall as the Ghoul snapped around and plunged it's vicious black claws into the man’s stomach, tearing organs free in an arch movement as it withdrew. Something primordial rumbled with glee as the fluid leaked into the floorboards through the carpet. 

Cowbell stood stiff as he heard a familiar voice. A dark chanting hummed through the room like a lullaby and Cowbell’s ears flicked, the rings in the top of them clicking as they moved up and down. The words resonated with the mask that sat abandoned across the room on a blood-stained rug. Black eyes widened as he saw Papa Nil stood in the door way, his face a picture of focus as he dissipated the Ghoul’s control over the magic in the room. A cleansing spell, Cowbell realised as he fell to his knees and screamed, his spine curling over as the mask skittered across the floor and slammed over his face, sealing with heat like hellfire to contain the creature in an enchanted shell. The magic that burned through his fingertips receeded up his arms, the marks on the back of his hands flaring with the burning in his head. The Ghoul's vision swirled as he slumped backwards, the glass of the forgotten syringe cracking beneath his back as he fell to the floor. While he was still conscious he pawed the air for the Grand Papa, whispering in Latin, but the Ghoul was soon forced into a trance of sleep as Nil touched his eyelids with cool fingers the spell sealing him in slumber. 

A spark of jolting magic awoke the Ghoul later. His eyes peered through the cage of a mask over his face to see a soft smile. Papa Nil sighed and shakily seated himself next to the Ghoul, his chair full of pillows for comfort. Cowbell made a croaking noise before he found his voice.  
“I am sorry, Papa, she told me-“ Cowbell swallowed as his hands and forehead burned, the searing making his vision blur momentarily.  
“I know, my pet, I know. Do not worry.” Papa waved a hand over his face and muttered an enchantment. The pain lessened.  
“Do not use all your strength on me, Papa. I will recover in time. Ghouls heal quickly.” He chuckled and sat up, his head swimming as he swayed.

“Its not your healing I am worried about.” The Grand Papa frowned, “I had enough influence to prevent them from killing you, but your powers are unnatural for your species. They are…worried.” Papa Nil rotated a wrist before taking his oxygen mask and taking a deep breath, “Your powers are from interbreeding in demon species. Why your mother wished to be rid of you is strange. You are far more powerful than we all thought, my Ghoul.” Papa Nil smiled and patted his knee with a small chuckle.  
Cowbell mulled over his lineage for a moment before looking Papa Nil in the eyes. Cowbell's black eyes were intense with unseen emotion, hidden behind the mask that was enchanted to his face to control the blood powers coursing through him, “I will use them to serve you, Papa, I swear it.” He knelt before the demonic pope. Nil patted his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  
“Your loyalty is something I may need in these trying times.” He carefully pressed his hand to the back of the Ghoul’s head and pulled the creature in close for a hug, “I fear I may need them more than you could know.”


	2. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cowbell having discovered his powers were dormant and killing Papa Emeritus the Third, is now on the road to recovery. Papa Nihil wants to make sure the Ghoul can control his powers so that he does not harm anymore people.

Cowbell Ghoul was shocked by the revelation of his own powers. The mask the Grand Papa had sealed over his face has loosened after a couple of days and the Ghoul had pulled the mask off after a week or so to look at his own face. His eyes were still surrounded by faint dark coloured blood vessels and Cowbell traced a clawed finger over them softly as they glowed softly before fading away. His big black eyes blinked as they receded under his skin and the Ghoul sighed before brushing his hair he had been unable to touch for a week and a hard brush over his horn to remove the dead flakes from them. He sneezed at the dust that came off them and turned to grab his clean robes and a towel since he could finally shower and remove the accumulated grime from his face. Taking his standard toiletries, the Ghoul closed his room door and made his way down to the bathing areas.

The bathing areas were communal, being split into male and female sections. Ghouls used their respective bathrooms like any other members of the church but had set times in which they could use them, due to their demonic nature, and the fact that on many occasions members of the church had fainted when seeing them. The real nature of the creatures was kept quiet but was well known among many of the Sisters of Sin. Cowbell stripped off in the main dressing area and took his towel and toiletries to the shower cubicles, he didn’t want to be forced to sit in the communal bathing pool with the other Ghouls with the things that had happened in the church. The Ghoul waited for the spray to heat up before standing under it and scrubbing his hair clean with two wash and rinses. The water was brown, and the Ghoul stuck his long, pointed tongue out in disgust at the amount of muck he managed to wash off his face, hair and body. The heat was soothing, and cowbell prodded around his eyes as he stood under the spray, thinking back to the humming power that had surged through his blood. His heart beat sped up at the thought of what he had done, and the Ghoul took some calming breaths under the spray.

As Cowbell was towelling himself off he heard the door to the bathroom slam open and he looked over his shoulder with wide black eyes as he pulled his pants and trousers on. The tall old Air Ghoul entered the bathroom, ducking a little as he moved through the doorway, and spotted Cowbell in the back by the showers. The younger Ghoul looked at him and tilted his head curiously, shaggy hair flopping over his ears.  
“What is it, Air?” Cowbell pulled on his shirt quickly hiding the strange black veins that had begun to fade all over his body. His clawed hands still itched with the scars of the strange runes that had burned onto his hands.   
The Air Ghoul sniffed and raised his nose at the Ghoul in front of him before folding his hands behind his back and tilting his head back over his shoulder, “Papa Emeritus Nihil had requested you meet him in his quarters, he wishes to speak to you.” The tone of Air was almost soothing, calm and collected and Cowbell nodded, tying his sash around his waist over his top. He grabbed his things and followed Air out before parting to go and put his things in his room before meeting with the Grand Papa. He swallowed thickly as he thought about what they would be speaking about. 

The large imposing doors of Papa Nihil’s rooms were decorated with a great plaque and great curling handles. Cowbell starred at the door for some time before he plucked up the courage to knock on the door with three sharp snaps of his knuckles. A Sister of Sin opened the door and ushered him inside. Papa Nihil raised his head as he heard the door shut and he smiled, squinting to make out the figure of the Ghoul stood in front of him.  
“Don’t look so stiff, Cowbell, I am not going to reprimand you for what you have done.” He waved the Sisters of Sins away and continued once they had firmly shut the door behind them. “I am very aware of the Clergy’s intentions, my child. You did what you had to.” Papa Nihil’s face was covered with a bitter smile as he signalled for Cowbell to sit across from him. The Ghoul sat and lowered his head, curling his claws into the material of his trousers. Guilt swelled within him, but both knew why the Ghoul had taken the task of ending Nihil’s children.

Papa Nihil waved his hand as he pulled out a fresh plate of biscuits from seemingly nowhere. Placing the plate down Nihil looked at Cowbell and pushed his glasses up his nose, “What I am more concerned about, now that you have recovered, is these powers you have. They should have been expressed long ago.” Nihil span his now coffee with his finger in thought before looking at Cowbell’s wide black eyes, “Ghouls express their powers soon after birth. Maybe it can only be used in certain situations…” Nihil hummed to himself and sipped his cold coffee.   
Cowbell could remember all too well the burning in his veins as he’d contorted the blood in the Third’s body and forced the drug through to every cell in his body ending his life. The sigils on the backs of his hands itched as he remembered the life force slipping through his fingers as the youngest of Nihil’s children slumped forwards onto the table.  
“I don’t know Papa. It was like a strange awakening. Everything throbbed, Papa, and I couldn’t hear. I felt him die, Papa, and I felt the blood of everyone, even you. Something screamed at me to kill, to consume, and I couldn’t stop it.” Cowbell looked at the scarred symbols and shivered, “I couldn’t stop myself.” 

Papa Nihil looked at the Ghoul with clouded eyes before standing up and slowly walking to retrieving his trolley with his oxygen tank and cane. Cowbell looked at him with a tilted head as the Papa pulled his trolley free and took a deep breath of oxygen before waddling to the door.  
“Come along, my child. I will teach you how to control those powers even if it kills me.” Papa Nil opened the door and Cowbell jumped to his feet following the old Papa as he walked out and down the corridor.  
“Papa! You can’t just…You can teach me to control the power?” Cowbell carefully pried the trolley from Nihil and passed him back his cane as they down towards the lower levels of the church. The lower levels could only be accessed by the higher-ranking members of the church. Cowbell swallowed as Papa Nihil lead him deeper, the light disappearing as they descended a set of spiralling stairs. Nihil tapped on a door at the bottom of the stairs and the wood swung open before the antipope stepped over the threshold and the room lit up with the flames of a dozen torches.

It was chilly and the demon next to Cowbell shivered before ushering Cowbell further into the room and pointing across the basement towards a long laboratory table. The wooden surface was covered in vials and flasks, the contents of varying shades of red. Cowbell took a vial and shook it lightly before uncorking the glass and sniffing the viscous liquid. The metallic sour scent of old blood clogged his nose and the Ghoul grimaced placing the flask back down on the bench.   
Papa Nil seated himself on a bench and chuckled, “We used these for witchcraft. But they should be plenty serviceable as practice dummies.” The old man pointed a long, wrinkled finger at Cowbell, “Now have a go. Channel that thrumming energy you talked about. Look into the blood and feel the power.” Cowbell turned his back to Nihil and looked at the vials before focusing his centre and looking into the stagnant red of the liquid. A humming started in his ears but the rush of power didn’t come as he twisted his fingers and tried to move the blood in the flasks. The blood bubbled and steamed a little, sloshing in the containers, but did nothing else. Cowbell frowned and let go of the power with a small gasp as his hands burned.

Papa Nihil watched on in thought. The blood in the glassware had been perfectly preserved yet the Ghoul could do nothing more than boil it. The demon hummed, “You should try on me, my child. See if you can control this old black blood.” Papa Nil patted over his own chest and sat, his cane between his knees as he rested both his hands on it.   
“Papa I can’t do that. What if I can’t control it?” Cowbell wrung his hands nervously as he walked closer to the old man.   
“I believe you can control it with a little bit of risk added.” The antipope only smiled and waved a hand waiting for the Ghoul to try and twist the tainted blood in his veins.

Cowbell swallowed thickly and reached out a shaking hand, “Will you be able to stop me if something goes wrong, Papa?” He licked his lips nervously and took a breath as Papa Nihil only nodded with a soft smile.  
“It will be fine, Cowbell, I may be old, but I am stronger than you think.” He chuckled at himself and sat back as Cowbell pulled his mask off and carefully set it on the floor by himself. As he held his hand out he felt the power surge down his hand, the back of it burning, the sigil glowing brightly. The black veins surfaced around his eye sockets as he heard the throbbing of Papa Nihil’s old heart. Following the flow the Ghoul twitched his fingers and caught the blood in a fist. Papa Nil shifted uncomfortably as he felt his blood stutter in his veins. Cowbell shook as the humming in his ears became deafening. Nihil shuddered in his seat and wheezed before muttering and dispelling the power in the room. 

The Ghoul stumbled forwards as the energy was sucked from him. Nihil only grinned across from him.  
“See, my child, it was fine. You did well for your first try.” The pope reached forwards and patted Cowbell’s side with a wheeze. The Ghoul shakily wheeled the oxygen tank closer and pressed the mask into the old man’s hand. Taking a few deep breaths of oxygen Nihil smiled at him, “Soon we’ll have you shifting life force like there’s no tomorrow my child. Just you wait.” He waggled his finger at Cowbell and let the Ghoul help him stand and guide him to the door.  
“Thank you Papa, but for now you should rest. I’m sure with some practice I can be less of a burden to you.” The Ghoul grinned with needle like teeth,  
The old man shook his head as they started to climb the stairs, “You were never a burden, Cowbell, never have you been, even when I found you swaddled in that little Italian garden.” Cowbell gave him a squeeze and helped him up a particularly high step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a continuation to this for reasons. Feedback is very much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> OH LOOK MORE SHIT. I hope everyone liked it. Feedback is much appreciated.


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